Song for the Lonely
by FreelyBeYourself
Summary: Ten very short stories about the members of International Rescue. This is an iPod shuffle challenge. Rated K plus just to be on the extremely safe side.


**As you will see, this is an iPod shuffle challenge. I did it just for the fun of it (put your iPod on shuffle, write a short 'thing' during the duration of the song, no adding on later, no editing). As such, this isn't really all that great; I'll tell you that right from the start. I mostly just wrote this to let off some steam after a stressful day at school. Still, you might get some entertainment out of reading it anyway. I do hope you enjoy it, even if it is short, and even though I didn't go back and edit (as per the "rules" of these things). **

**As always, feel free to review, but please be kind. **

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own the Thunderbirds. I do NOT own any aspect of any music mentioned (there are no lyrics, just song titles and band names). **

Song for the Lonely – Cher

Losing Lucy was the hardest thing that Jeff had ever had to live through. At first he wasn't sure he would be able to survive; the grief of losing his soul mate was so intense that he couldn't find the motivation to get up in the morning.

He missed a lot of Alan's childhood, leaving Scott to raise his youngest son. It's something he deeply regrets now. Alan is almost grown up, with just a few short teenage years left until he reaches adulthood, and Jeff knows that he is responsible for alienating himself from his son.

Things are better now. He still misses Lucy; still misses her desperately. Now, though, he realizes that he's still got a family to fall back on, and as long as they're there for him, he knows he'll be okay. He focuses now on being the father he always wanted to be. He never should've given up hope; it isn't what Lucy would have wanted.

That doesn't matter.

He hasn't forgotten her, and now he's learned to cope with her absence.

Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd 

Gordon was many things, not least of which being Olympic swimming gold medalist. That was probably his proudest accomplishment. Whenever he was feeling down, or just wanted to be alone, Gordon would always find himself up in his bedroom, staring thoughtfully at that medal of his and remembering the road he had taken to get to the Olympics.

When he had had his hydrofoil accident, Gordon had thought that his life was over; his life, at least, as he had previously known it. The doctors had given him less than no chance of ever walking again, but he had proven them wrong.

If asked, he would always tell his family that it was their support which helped him recover. That was true, but it wasn't the whole story. What really helped him was that Olympic medal; he'd stare at it for hours, remembering what he once was, and he vowed he would eventually return to that. Gordon knew that his story was an impressive one to tell, but it didn't seem all that impressive to him; it was who he was, and there was nothing more to it than that.

Gordon was a swimmer, and that would always be what he would return to when things got tough or when emotions ran high.

Beers Ago – Toby Keith

Scott and John were polar opposites. They had always been brothers, and always would be, but there was a certain distance between them that had always been there, and would always be there.

One thing, though, could get them to bond – sitting together by the side of the pool, watching Gordon swim and Alan argue with TinTin, while they each drank a beer and reminisced. Sometimes they would talk about past missions, and sometimes they would talk about childhood. Sometimes they would talk about girls, about friends, about Jeff; sometimes they wouldn't talk about anything at all, instead preferring to sit in silence and share in each other's company.

It became a nightly occurrence when John was on planet, and even when he was up in Thunderbird Five, Scott would make a point to call John occasionally. The two couldn't physically sit together then, but they would have a beer and talk. Their relationship was different compared to the other brothers, but it was definitely there.

My Immortal – Evanescence 

Alan was sick and tired of being the one who was always forgotten and left behind. _He_ knew that he was old enough to be a Thunderbird. _He_ knew that he was mature enough. The problem was, his _family_ didn't know it. No one listened to him when he asked to join International Rescue. No one gave him a chance to explain himself. It was always, "Alan" this, and "Alan" that.

He used to dream of being a Thunderbird. Used to. Now, he wasn't sure he wanted it so much anymore. His brothers didn't pay attention to him at home; would they trust him on a mission? Would they give him a chance to prove himself? Would he be able to do any work at all, without having his brothers breathing down his neck?

Alan wasn't a forgiving person. He'd spent too much time building up anger over the years to just let it go so quickly. The way he saw it, he had given everything to his family. He had done everything he could to fit in, and they didn't want to hear it. He'd been alone from the beginning, ever since his mom died. It wasn't her fault, Alan knew, but sometimes he couldn't help but be angry at her, too, which was the real kicker, because in truth no one deserved his anger but himself.

After all, there must be something wrong with him, that he was never good enough even for his family.

Everybody Hurts – Avril Lavigne 

John hated showing weakness.

The solution?

He never did.

After the Hood attacked, he kept his thoughts to himself. In truth, he had been ashamed that he had had to call back to Tracy Island for help. And then, when Jeff had finally okayed the continuation of International Rescue, John was even more ashamed to admit that he was terrified to return to space. Logically, he knew that the Hood was never going to attack again, and it was incredibly unlikely that anyone else would ever try something like that. Still, John felt his heart racing as he returned to space on Thunderbird Three with Alan at the helm.

He put on a brave face when Jeff, Scott, and Alan dropped him off on his 'Bird, but as soon as he was alone, John broke down. He sat in the control room, buried his head in his hands, and cried so hard that he hyperventilated, which soon turned into a full blown panic attack.

By the time Jeff got back home and called him, there was no sign at all that John had ever been upset.

John didn't like showing weakness, but there were times when he felt incredibly weak. And he hated himself for it.

The Reason – Hoobastank 

Scott had made plenty of mistakes in his life, but one of the worst was allowing his father to wallow in his own grief, all but abandoning the family in the process. Scott had raised Alan and Gordon practically alone until his father had gotten his act together, and yeah, Scott harbored some resentment for that.

Scott wondered, now, whether he could try to understand his father's position. Try as he might, though, he just didn't get it; no matter how grief-stricken someone was, how could they possibly abandon their family?

Maybe if Scott was older at the time, he would've understood a bit better. Being a young boy, barely old enough to take care of himself at the time, however, Scott was still far from understanding. Even now that he was grown, it just didn't make sense. Maybe that was because Scott had never felt such grief; maybe it was because he still saw the past through the eyes of the little boy he had been at the time. Whatever the reason, Scott felt that it was too late to change his mind now.

Scott saw what his father had done, and privately, he made a vow to himself to never, ever follow in his father's footsteps. He couldn't do to his family what his father had done to the Tracys. It just couldn't happen.

Savin' Me – Nickelback 

Alan was hanging out on a ledge. Not literally, of course. He wasn't sure he was brave enough to tempt fate in such a way. Emotionally, though, he was a hairsbreadth away from falling. The Hood's attack had fixed the family, but it had also instilled such an intense fear into Alan that the teen wasn't sure how to cope with it. He supposed he should talk to one of his brothers, but that would just be too embarrassing; all of his brothers were dealing with it just fine. He didn't hear them having nightmares in the middle of the night.

Talking to his father was out of the question, too; Jeff would surely tell Alan that he had no time for his son. Alan wasn't sure how this was fair; it wasn't like Alan asked for much from the older man.

It didn't matter, he supposed.

All Alan knew was that if someone didn't come and talk to him soon, he was going to break. Sitting alone in his room, Alan eyed his balcony. It was a long way to the ground. That was a big decision for such a small problem, but Alan had always had to deal with things alone, and he wasn't sure he wanted to be alone anymore.

Jesus, Take the Wheel – Carrie Underwood 

International Rescue was a wonderful organization; nearly the entire world population thought so.

To the members of said organization, however, it was both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, International Rescue saved countless lives every year. Disasters that, before, would have been catastrophic were now minimized in effect or averted completely thanks to International Rescue. That was a good thing. But IR wasn't all positives.

If Jeff Tracy had a quarter for every time one of his sons had almost been killed on a rescue mission, he wouldn't need to be the CEO of Tracy Enterprises, because those quarters alone would have made him just as rich.

Sometimes, Jeff wondered what he had been thinking, starting a rescue organization. In trying to save the world from danger, he had endangered the people who meant the most to him. Most days, Jeff found himself praying to God that everything would turn out alright, because nowadays prayer was the only reassurance he ever got.

In the End – Linkin Park 

Virgil was not an angry person by nature, but when he got angry, he really got angry. Having four brothers would give anyone the patience of a saint, but Virgil especially was incredibly patient. At least, that was the public appearance he put up. If his brothers ever knew how much he struggled to keep his cool on rescue missions, he'd probably be grounded from International Rescue.

Virgil played his piano because it was the easiest, most discreet method to let out his aggression without arousing suspicion. No, he mused; aggression wasn't the right word. It was more… self-doubt. He always tried so, so hard, but when it came down to it, he was never good enough. Like the time his rescue line broke, for example, and he didn't quite react fast enough to grab the little girl he'd been carrying to safety. The girl had fallen fifty feet down a ravine. She'd died. Virgil, on the other hand, easily caught himself.

Therefore, if Virgil was angry, he thought he deserved to be. After all, he was always the one who failed.

When We Stand Together – Nickelback 

The Tracy family was a strong unit, bonded together with unbreakable bonds. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. Anyone watching would stand and stare, in awe over the family's effortless communication. Without batting an eyelash, the family - father, brothers, and all - would be able to silently and easily complete even the most complicated tasks without so much as an argument.

They were selfless, too; if International Rescue in and of itself didn't prove that, then the danger the family repeatedly dove into did. With no thought of their own lives, Scott, John, Virgil, Gordon, Alan, and Jeff would do whatever it took to save complete strangers – people they'd never even met before.

They were a single unit, one mind, one heart, one pulse. The family could not function without any one of its members, because each individual was so firmly rooted into the whole. They were far stronger together than they ever could be apart.


End file.
